


Everyone Could See It

by pineyfusion



Category: Mad Men
Genre: Banter, Canon Het Relationship, F/M, Jealousy, Resolved Sexual Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-04
Updated: 2015-06-21
Packaged: 2018-04-02 18:49:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4070716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pineyfusion/pseuds/pineyfusion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To be honest, everybody could see that Stan and Peggy had something between them. Even before they did.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Joey Baird

**Author's Note:**

> I was kind of stuck for a title. Anyways, the gist of this is just 5 little vignettes where someone else saw Stan's feelings about Peggy before he did ending with a vignette of when he truly realized it. 
> 
> This one takes place during "The Summer Man" (Season 4)

The first time anybody claimed they could see that Stan loves Peggy was only within the first two or so months of the two meeting, back when things were more on the antagonistic side.

Of all the people, it was that little shit Joey Baird.

It was another day in the break room and Peggy had just accosted Joey for projecting his mommy issues out on Joan, at least from what Stan could gather. Stan never found Joan that pleasant to deal with then, but then again he never did himself any favors in getting on her good side. He did, however, respect her and knew not to get on her bad side. Joey, however, didn't give a damn claiming that his mom was just like Joan. Stan wasn't exactly Mr. Sensitivity back then, but even he knew that Joey crossed a line with that rape barb. Despite his agreement in some respects with the way Peggy responded to Joey, he was too stubborn to admit that she was in the right in this case. So of course, he was going to make a snarky remark.

 

"Peggy Olson, pioneering the science of wet blanketry" Stan mused to his audience

"You love her" Joey said offhanded as he was drawing "Yeah sure...whatever you say, Baird" Stan scoffed at him as he glare

 

Joey shrugged his shoulders as he went back to his masterpiece drawing of Joan and Lane which Stan must admit is probably some of the best work Joey has done on an artistic standpoint. His comment about him loving Peggy wasn't even worth any further of a dignified response for Stan. Sure, she did have a nice ass and her eyes were gorgeous but that personality of hers was way too smug and way too overbearing for him to deal with. Though, he does have to admit that he does like that she fights for what she wants and isn't afraid to back down when she wants something. There is something to be said about that. Yet, the overbearingness and the smugness...it was too infuriating for him. Joey had no idea what he was talking about, he certainly didn't love her...hell he barely even liked her to begin with.

Later that day, Stan headed into his office and saw Peggy at her desk, smoking a cigarette. As he caught sight of her, he could feel himself starting to get a little sweatier than usual. He headed to the window in their office and was going to open a window when Peggy had to interject.

 

"Any particular reason you're opening that window?" Peggy asked

"Why do you care?" he asked

"Because it's my office too...I'd like to hear a reason at least" she said, taking a drag of her cigarette

"I'm getting sweaty and I need to cool down, is that enough of a reason?" Stan replied

"It seems fine to me in here. Besides, isn't it hotter outside?"

"Do you really have to battle me on everything?"

"I don't HAVE to..." Peggy said with a little smirk, causing Stan's heart to race a little

"Okay fine, I'll keep the goddamn window shut" Stan said getting back to his drawing desk

"Geez, what's with you?" Peggy said "I honestly don't care if the window is open or shut"

"Then why did you have to get all combative about it?"

"Because you do the same thing to me all the time" she said "If you're gonna dish it out, I'm going to dish it right back. You should know this by now."

"Even over a stupid window?!" Stan muttered

"Yes." she said "At least until you stop trying to argue with me on every little thing"

"Well you stop arguing with ME over every little thing"

"Fine" Peggy said

"Fine" Stan said

 

The two sat in silence, getting to work on Life Cereal. As he drew up some art, Stan was replying the latest bickering in his head. He realized that Peggy did have a point even if it's a small one. He did bicker with her over every little thing. Then again, she would bicker with him over every little thing as well. They've done it so much in the past two months that neither one is really sure who starts it at times. It was frustrating yet in the back of his mind, Stan actually kind of liked bickering with Peggy. She was a worthy adversary and he did really enjoy talking with her even if she did drive him crazy a lot of times.

As he was deep in drawing, he felt a light breeze on his skin. He lifted his head up and saw a flash of navy blue from the corner of his eye. Peggy was at the window, which had now been opened up. She had a softer look to her than he usually saw. Like she was almost a little morose or something. It certainly wasn't like her at all, but he wasn't going to complain. He really did need that breeze. The two locked eyes for a moment and Stan could feel himself fighting back a smile.

 

"It was getting kind of hot in here..." she admitted before returning to her desk

"Thanks..." Stan said in a quiet voice, hoping she wouldn't hear.

 

Peggy and Stan went back to work in silence at least until the next big distraction would rear its ugly head. This time, the distracting was the form of Don calling out to Peggy and Stan about something. The two got up, grabbed their materials and headed over to Don's office. As they were walking, Joey's words began to ring in Stan's head yet again.

 

_'You love her...'_

 

Stan shook off the words as he and Peggy entered Don's office, ready to talk about their latest ideas. 


	2. Robbie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even family members could see it before he could!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during the episode A Little Kiss (Season 5)

It was about an hour after the party for Don's 40th birthday and Stan was out at the bar with his cousin Robbie. Stan was trying to help Robbie pick up girls, but it seemed like nobody was interested. There was that one girl at the party earlier, some friend of Megan's that seemed like a good fit. Stan was trying to get Robbie to talk to Megan's friend but Harry swooped in like a vulture and completely ruined the chances for poor Robbie. The two were having a couple of beers, lamenting the lack of luck.

"I'm sorry, man..." Stan said "I really wanted to get you laid before you shipped back out"

"It's alright. I appreciate the gesture" Robbie replied as he took a sip "You have some very interesting co-workers"

"Yeah, they're alright...I hope Bert didn't scare you that much"

"I'll be fine...really wasn't up for talking about the war, though." Robbie admitted "Speaking of which, who was that guy who pretty much brought up the whole conversation? He was with that girl you don't shut up about, right?"

"First off, that's Abe. He's Peggy's boyfriend. And what makes you think that I don't shut up about her? I don't even mention her that much"

"Except that you have. A lot. Usually it's been throwaway lines about how much she drives you crazy and how smug she is. Though lately, you've softened up on her saying that she's brilliant and you respect her but still find her frustrating to deal with"

"I think we just pretty much were tired of constantly sniping at each other" Stan shrugged, taking another swig of his beer "She's still a smug bitch but it's an enjoyable smugness these days. Maybe because it's not always towards me. Perhaps her getting laid has caused her to ease up on me...so I guess Abe is good for something"

"You don't seem like you're very fond of her boyfriend"

"It's not that I'm not fond of him, it's that I don't think he's the right for Peggy"

"How come?"

"He doesn't respect her talent and what she does" Stan said simply "He seems to think of it as some kind of novelty or some sort of political cause rather than an actual human being. He's only supportive of her because of the novelty. He doesn't give a damn about her otherwise."

"You don't know that" Robbie reasoned

"Maybe not, but that's how it comes off to me" Stan said "She could do better, that's really what I'm saying"

"As in you?"

"No."

"Well it certainly seems like you're talking about yourself"

"I'm not."

"You know, Stan...I gotta say -- you certainly have a type" Robbie mused

"That's hogwash you're speaking, Robbie"

"Not really. Remember that nerdy girl that tutored you in high school? I think her name was Barbara?"

"Barbara Pearlman...yeah I remember her" Stan said "So?"

"You had the hots for her, right?"

"No. I mean she had a nice ass, but god no. She was annoying and smug."

"Oh come on, Stan...you liked her more than you're letting on. Remember how you never touched an book until after she tutored you? Now you ready all the time. And you acted like you wanted to prove to her that you were smart."

"I wanted to pass English so that I can play football. It had nothing to do with her and it's not because of her that I got into books. It just so happened that a couple of the books were actually pretty good. And I mean...I guess she wasn't that annoying."

"My point is that you love those strong women who won't back down. Far more than the cheerleaders you banged...hell, do you remember any of the girls you were with in high school"

"....not really other than Vickie but I actually dated her for a year"

"But yet you remember Barbara clearly" Robbie said

"So what? She made a bit of a blip on my radar more than the girls I hooked up with in high school outside of Vickie. What the hell does this have to do with Peggy anyway?"

"Barbara may have looked nothing like Peggy, but it seems like she shares the same personality as her"

"No way, Peggy's a lot easier to talk to" Stan said then paused for a second "I mean compared to the two of course. But the point is that I was never really that attracted to Barbara and I'm not as attracted to Peggy as you think."

"So you are attracted to her?"

"Goddammit Robbie..." Stan groaned "Maybe a little...it's a long story"

"You certainly have a type..." Robbie smirked at him

"Can we please just change the subject, this is getting tedious" Stan sighed

Robbie relented and the two quickly changed topics, mostly touching up on how Robbie's mother is taking it with him being overseas. By the end of the night, the two had went their separate ways for the night. When Stan arrived back at his apartment, he got undressed and flopped onto his bed, trying not to think about what Robbie had said about his minor attraction to Peggy.

'You certainly have a type...'

Stan spent about an hour staring at his ceiling, before falling asleep for the night. When he woke up the next morning his thoughts were off Peggy and more focused on getting Harry back somehow for vulturing in on his cousin. He wasn't sure how he'd be able to do it, but he hoped that he'd have some chance to exact just a little bit of revenge.


	3. Ginsberg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stan misses Peggy but won't admit it. Ginsberg has a nice solution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place between Seasons 5 and 6 as Stan is in the midst of growing his glorious beard.

It had been about a month since Peggy had left for CGC. Stan was frustrated working primarily with Michael Ginsberg these days. The two got along fine for the most part, but there was something about their dynamic that just didn't work. It wasn't so easy as it was with Peggy. He understood why Peggy left for CGC and he knew that they already had an art director there so he couldn't just tag along, but it still was a lot more of a chore to go to work these days without her. She kept him on his toes and was always subtly encouraging him to be more proactive with his work. Yeah, she was still smug as ever, but he actually grew to really like that about her. Obviously, as a co-worker respect sort of deal, not anything beyond that. After one particular frustrating presentation, Stan stormed back into the office and sat at his desk, re-drawing his artwork for Jaguar. Moments later, Ginsberg came in exasperated at Stan.

 

"What the hell was up with that?!" Ginsberg asked Stan about the presentation

"It's nothing. I'm just not in the best mood..." Stan said, itching the beginnings of a beard he had decided to start growing. He turned to his artwork and started sketching again.

"You haven't been in the best mood for quite a while"

"And you're noticing that?" Stan said

"It's like walking on eggshells with you since Peggy left!" he said "You're more ornery than usual"

"Maybe it has nothing to do with her, maybe I've just been in a crummy mood"

"I don't think that's what it is"

"Look, we had a good rapport that we had to work at and things were going great. And I know why she left for CGC since Don sure as fuck didn't appreciate her talent. Why he treats her that way is beyond me..."

"What do you mean?"

"Just some stuff we talked about one night before she left about how Don screwed her over with the Clios before and how he would work her twice as hard as any other copywriter. He treats her like the secretary she was once upon a time."

"She was a secretary? I didn't know that" said Ginsberg

"She was Don's secretary...we talked about this one night because I wanted to know how the hell she got into copywriting in the first place. It was a long conversation since we would both work late nights together. She likely worked the late nights to avoid Abe...why she's still with him is beyond me."

"I don't know. Abe doesn't seem so bad to me." Michael shrugged his shoulders

"Well that's just my opinion" Stan said with a shrug

"You two really talked a lot, huh?"

"Well you know how it gets when you work together late at night. Though sometimes I'd be at home and she'd call me up and sometimes just ask me some questions about the accounts and pitch ideas to me" he said "Sometimes the subject changes a little....but mostly we'd just talk and kind of keep each other company during those late nights"

"Oh....I see...." Michael got quiet

"What?"

"You really miss her, don't you?"

"What? No...." Stan said "I mean it's not like she's gone forever or anything. She's just working for another agency. Professionally, maybe but you sound like you're saying personally"

"You miss her..." Ginsberg repeated. Stan was about to say something else but Ginsberg interrupted. "Oh shoot...it's 10 o'clock already? I need to get back. Morris wants to know how my date went"

"Your date?" "It's the only way I could work late here if he thought I was on a date. He wants me to start meeting girls and get married" Ginsberg said as he got up and gathered his belongings.

"Oh...okay. Well have a good night" Stan said "I'm going to finish up with this stuff"

"You know, I think Peggy left her phone number on the desk in case we had any questions about some of her old accounts."

"And?"

"I'm just saying that maybe you should give her a call" Ginsberg said "Just pretend you have a question about one of the old accounts"

"I'm not gonna do that" Stan said "That's ridiculous"

"Well...you do whatever you want. I'll see you tomorrow"

 

Ginsberg headed out of the office and Stan turned back to his artwork. The phone was sitting at the nearby desk, remaining untouched. Every few moments, Stan found himself glancing back at the phone. It got to a point where he was completely distracted by it, debating if he should follow Ginsberg's suggestion. For all he knows, she wouldn't want to speak to him or maybe wasn't even there...okay maybe not that. She was as much of a night owl as he was. The final time he glanced, back he thought about what Ginsberg had said.

_"You really miss her, don't you?"_

Stan sighed as he grabbed the phone and dialed the number on the desk. He sat there as the phone rang twice. Much to his relief, there was someone on the other line. It was Peggy. Stan ignored the fluttering in his chest when he heard her voice on the other line.

"Hello stranger, how have you been?" Stan asked Peggy in a genial tone.


	4. Shirley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The seed was first planted in Peggy's mind thanks to an observation from her new secretary Shirley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place a bit after Season 6

"No, it's fine...have fun tonight, alright?" Peggy said before hanging up the phone

She let out a frustrated sigh. She was hoping that Stan would be around tonight so they can bounce ideas off each other. Unfortunately, he had his hands full with some girl he started seeing a while ago. She wasn't sure exactly when since he never really said anything to her about this new flame of his, but she knew it's been at least a little while. She figured it was likely around the time that she had her tryst with Ted.

That's a face she'd rather forget. She was heartbroken for quite a while but has mostly gotten over it by now. She gets some small reminders like when anybody brings up that St. Joseph's ad or if she finds the show Hazel on TV. Otherwise, he's mostly just a terrible mistake. She thinks that they probably wouldn't have lasted anyway since he put her on too high a pedestal for her to live up to.

When thinking back about Ted, she remembered when they were asking about margarine and Peggy had spouted out the factoid about how it was invented. At the time, hearing Ted say "That's fantastic!" really did a number on her ego with his praising of her. But yet, she only now thinks that it was just an empty compliment from a man whom was going through a mid-life crisis concerning the death of his best friend and the crumbling of a loveless marriage. She was just a scapegoat, a convenient getaway from that.

Yet, she had to admit that she was more intrigued at what Stan had said to her after she said that fact. He didn't praise her like Ted did, but he said while clearly impressed "How do you know that?" and it kind of felt like a contrast of sorts. It wasn't only that Stan was impressed, but he wanted to know more. He wanted to sort of delve into her mind and know how it came to be that she knew that fact. Then again, Stan was her friend and probably was just engaging her on a friendly level. At least that's what she thinks.

Tonight, she was in her office, typing away and writing up some new copy. She wasn't satisfied with the idea for Burger Chef, an account they've been trying in vain to obtain. The sun was starting to set when she heard a knock at her door. 

"Come in" Peggy said. The door opened to reveal her new secretary Shirley there. "Oh...Shirley. You're still here?"

"Well you were still working" she said "I was just coming in to ask if I could leave...I got a dinner with my boyfriend at 8"

"Oh sure thing..." Peggy said "You're always welcome to leave whenever you want. I'm sorry if I didn't express that earlier"

"That's alright" Shirley looked around for a moment. "Huh....where's your boyfriend? Isn't he always here with you?"

"Boyfriend?!" Peggy looked at Shirley strangely

"Yeah the bearded guy who does the artwork here...he is your boyfriend, right?"

"No. That's Stan. We're just friends. He's actually out tonight with his new girlfriend...Ellen, Eileen...some name like that"

"Oh...." Shirley said "My apologies for the mistake"

"It's fine....I'm fine. It's not a big deal."

"Really" Shirley raised her eyebrow at her boss

"Okay, so I'm a little upset because I wanted to work with him on the Burger Chef account but that's it really. I love bouncing ideas off of him and we make a really good team. It's just a little annoying that I cannot have him here by my side to work on this account."

"Sounds like it's more than just work related..."

"It's not more than that. He and I aren't like that. We're just friends. And I'm happy for him and Irene...really...well I think Irene is her name...I can't remember it"

"Oh dear...it's worse than I thought..." Shirley shook her head

"What is?"

"Are you really that blind?"

"I don't know what you mean"

"Yes you do, and you won't recognize it" she said "You're just like my boyfriend was before he and I started dating..."

"How could I recognize it if you won't tell me?

"Because this is something you need to figure out for yourself"

"Figure what out?"

"I can't help you there" Shirley said "You wouldn't listen to me anyway..."

"Sure I would."

"Not when it comes to these things. I can't control how you think and what you believe....that's all on you"

"If this is about me and Stan then you're way too off base there"

"Am I?"

"Yes....I mean....of course!" Peggy's train of thought had failed her as she tried to convince Shirley. "He's like a brother to me"

"I have a brother and I can assure you that we've never looked at each other the way that you two look at each other."

"You don't know what you're talking about" Peggy insisted

"I think you do..." Shirley said under her breath, then let out a soft laugh

"What?"

"Oh, nothing...just a funny story Dawn told me" Shirley said, then looked at her watch "It's 7 already?! I gotta get going"

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting"

"I've still got time..." Shirley said "Besides, I probably wouldn't have been ready till 8:30 anyway..." 

"Have fun on your date tonight" Peggy said, secretly relieved as Shirley turned around to head off. 

"I will. Have a good night."

Shirley headed out of Peggy's office, leaving her alone with her copywriting. As she was writing, those thoughts about Stan were creeping in again. Peggy figured that Shirley was new and that she probably wasn't really too familiar with her and Stan's dynamic. If she wasn't so new, she'd understand what was between her and Stan was nothing more than platonic. Okay, other that those two kisses but they were only brief in time. They were snapshots of roads not taken. Was Shirley really implying that Stan and her were in love? And if so, why does it feel like she secretly wanted Shirley to tell her that...Stan was with someone, some nurse lady. He was happy and in love...who is Peggy to come between that. Sure maybe she thinks Stan could've been more upfront about the relationship but that was his choice. Yet at the same time there was that one thing that Shirley said that keeps sticking in her mind. 

_"I have a brother and we've never looked at each other the way that you two do...."_

Peggy shook her head and let the passing thought dissipate as she got back to work. Like she would have feelings beyond friendship for Stan...yeah, right.  


End file.
